K&N Filters Winternationals
Pomona
(Feb. 27-29)
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44th Annual |
| Saturday |
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their stuff as qualifying concludes |
A lightning-fast final qualifying session set the stage for what should be a tremendous season-opening race as the fields of the K&N Filters Winternationals were officially set Saturday afternoon. Doug Kalitta, John Force, and Greg Anderson will lead their respective classes into battle when eliminations begin at 11 a.m. PST.
With 10 Top Fuel cars running 4.5 seconds or quicker, Kalitta (pictured) rose to the occasion with a 4.48 at 329 mph. Force let his protégé Eric Medlen have the spotlight for the first few days, but he returned to his customary top slot in Round 4 with a stunning 4.74 at 324 mph. The dominance Anderson enjoyed last year continues with a double-track-record pass of 6.71 at 206 mph.
Kalitta picked $4,000 of Bud money out of Schumacher's pocket in Round 4 when he blasted to the front with a 4.484 at 329.99 mph in the Mac Tools rail, much to the delight of the crowd. Army man Schumacher joined Kalitta in the 4.4-second range in the final pass of the day, but settled for second place after a best of 4.495 at 330.63 mph, the fastest run so far.
 Doug Kalitta
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"The guys saved the best for last," Kalitta said. "I knew it was on a good run. You can tell. I was just happy the car stuck to the track and held together through the finish line. It's a nice start for all the Mac Tools team.
"We've had good luck here in the past, at least in the Budweiser Shootout deal. We've won that twice. It would be great to win the race this time around. I think we have a car that can do it."
Clay Millican flirted with a career-best pass when his 104+ Octane Boost dragster clocked a third-best 4.510 at 320.81 mph. Former Winternationals winner Darrell Russell lowered his personal-best E.T. for the second time this weekend, this time to 4.516 at 323.58 mph, but his Keystone/DeeZee rail slipped from second to fourth place.
Race Girl pilot Scott Weis anchored the field with a 4.806 at 291.32 mph, a full tenth of a second off the 15th-place car. Top Fuel results
Force, who hails from nearby Yorba Linda, sent the partisan crowd into a tizzy when he uncorked his 4.746 at 324.36 mph near the end of qualifying. The Castrol GTX High-Mileage driver now has an incredible 118 No. 1 qualifying efforts to his credit, which is second only to Warren Johnson's 130 top starts.
 John Force
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Driving the Castrol Syntec Ford that won the 2003 NHRA championship, Medlen saved his best pass for last. Still, his 4.783 at 320.58 mph wasn't enough to cover his boss, relegating him to second place.
"Eric's really good, and they even tell me he's been out-talking me, too," said Force. "I'm not sure where he gets that from -- I didn't teach him -- but he's really proving himself on and off the track. His energy has brought a whole new fire to me. I was under a lot of pressure to pick the right driver for the team, and I think we did good.
"I had a good hot rod today and we went for it. I got a way with it and Eric almost did too. We both qualified, and did it 1 and 2. Tomorrow's a whole 'nother day, but I told him it doesn't matter; win or lose, we've already done our job."
Levi, Ray, & Shoup driver Tim Wilkerson, the highest finishing independent driver last season, zoomed from the bottom half of the grid to third place with a last-round 4.808 at 287.96 mph. Also taking advantage of the cool afternoon temperatures, Hemi Oakley pro Gary Scelzi of Fresno showed his stuff with a fourth-best 4.814 at 323.74 mph.
Cruz Pedregon, the 1992 Funny Car titleholder, parked his Advance Auto Parts Chevrolet on the bump with a 4.954 at 310.41 mph. His brother Tony, the class' reigning champ, finished 10th in the Quaker State car.
K&N's principal driver, Tony Bartone, suffered a disappointing return to the professional ranks when he failed to qualify Jim Dunn's machine. Bob Gilbertson was also a surprise as one of the seven drivers who didn't make the show. Funny Car results
After opening qualifying with a two-hundredths of a second lead on the field, Pro Stock champion Anderson declared that margin wouldn't hold. He was right. By the end of all four professional sessions, Anderson's new Jerry Haas-built Vegas General Construction Pontiac Grand Am proved to be nearly four-hundredths quicker than his nearest rival as he shattered both ends of the Pomona Raceway records for his class with a 6.713 at 206.10 mph. The pole is the 18th of Anderson's career and his sixth straight spanning back to the 2003 event in Chicago.
 Greg Anderson
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"I'm very shocked; I honestly didn't expect to be this far ahead of everyone after qualifying," said Anderson, who would have earned the pole with any of his four qualifying passes at this event. "It just seems like the car gets quicker and faster every run down the track. We made about 80 test passes between our two cars [his and Jason Line's] over the winter so we probably have more runs than anyone with the new beadlock wheels, so maybe that's the difference.
"Even so, we're still learning what makes this car tick. I still haven't made that good a run this weekend. We can't get hold of the starting line; we're spinning the tires on every run. Once we figure that out, it'll get even better."
After struggling early, ACDelco Cavalier pro Kurt Johnson came to life in Saturday's early round, driving from the bottom half of the field to second place with a steady 6.749 at 204.57 mph.
Anderson's teammate, Jason Line, a top candidate for Rookie of the Year, slipped to third with a best of 6.756 at 204.60 mph, which he ran Friday. Mopar's best hopes will lie with Larry Morgan, whose Stratus R/T remained in the top four with a 6.765 at 204.63 mph.
Final qualifier Mike Corvo Jr. opens opposite Anderson in his Motown Missile Neon R/T, which carded a 6.802 at 203.06 mph. Two-time NHRA champion Jim Yates and Mark "Cowboy" Pawuk both got bumped out in the final session by Shaun Carlson and Bruce Allen, who squeezed into the bottom half of the grid. Joining Yates and Pawuk on the DNQ list are fellow heavyweights Troy Coughlin, Ron Krisher, and Mark Whisnant. In all, 32 cars attempted to qualify. Pro Stock results
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